Thailand. A new adventure. Day 6.

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Sunday. December 30. Day 6. Bangkok to Ayutthaya.
Bye Bye Bangkok.
6 am. The group-members gather for a final breakfast before boarding the bus at 7:30 and heading north toward Ayuthaya Province, about 50 miles north of Bangkok.
Wat did you say?
Three graceful pagodas, gray with age, stand lonely sentry surrounded by the crumbling remnants of a temple built about 600 years ago. Magnificent. The Wat Phra Sri Sanpetch is one of hundreds of temples in and around the once thriving Siamese royal capital of Ayuthaya. Nok steers the group thru the maze of ruins pointing out historical details, and then thru the market, which is fast filling up with Thais seeking to visit the holy site on the last weekend of the year. This is an amazing place.
Monkeying around.
The chief attraction at our next stop, Lopburi, are the monkeys--macaques--which clamor over ancient stone ruins as well as tourists. Before leaving the bus, Nok warns us to leave dangling earrings and anything shiny on the bus. I tie my long blonde hair under a cap, wrap my camera strap several times around my wrist, and I'm off to inspect the troops. Babies, babies everywhere. Jumping, tugging, running, scampering, pulling, biting, wrestling. So cute. A few brave souls in our group squat down and let the monkeys use them for climbing posts. The rest of us are kept busy snapping pictures, uttering ahhhhh, and avoiding the larger adult monkeys--some of which are the size of small dogs--about 20 pounds. These public nuisances owe their lives to being born in a Buddhist country and to attracting hordes of tourists to the town. After a final stop for a buffet lunch, we head out of town and continue the journey north past farm land the occasional small town.
A portrait of a town.
Our stop for the night is at the Topland Plaza Hotel in Phitsanulok. The gym is closed for repairs and the swimming pool is too cold for me so I proceed to trot down 12 flights of stairs and then jog back up. By the 10th I was panting and thinking I'd never make it. But after days sitting on planes and buses, I needed some exercise. About 7 pm, newly invigorated, I join about half of the group which has gathered in the street to take pedi-cabs, three wheeled bikes with drivers, to a small stand where we can try a variety of fried creatures: worms, crickets, and scorpions. I hold the scorpion near my mouth for a picture; I pass on munching the bugs. Next stop the Flying Vegetable Restaurant where one of our group, dressed in a grass skirt, climbs a set of stairs to a podium where he catches fried vegetables thrown by a cook from a wok. Very amusing. I guess you had to be there. I skip dinner and walk a few yards to a crowded Thai market, free of tourists save for me, I actually bargain a bit and end up with a skirt for $6 and a dress for $10. After I get back from the hotel about 9 pm, I take a walk and snap a few shots of a little boy--probably about three years old, who is clad in pajamas and is riding his trike on the sidewalk and into the open front of a gallery selling portraits of the King. Suddenly he spots me with my camera--zips around in front of me, comes to a screeching halt and poses, throwing his arms in the air, and making the victory signal with both hands. Incredibly cute. I will never forget him. In a way he is representative of the Thai people. Very pleasant. Warm. Smiling. Ready to pose for the camera of a stranger visiting their land. One final jog--which quickly turns into a crawl--up the 12 fights and day six of my trip is over.

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Photos

Ancient pagodas
Wat Phra Sri

Stone carvings at Phra Prang Sam Yod
But the monkeys are the main attraction.

Comments

[Dale]

What a fantastic experience!
Susan - I am so glad that you are blogging the trip in Thailand. Your descriptions are capturing perfectly what we are experiencing! Thank you for taking the time to share this with all of us!